How Appreciative Are You?

Being appreciative should not be difficult to do. However, too many spend more time complaining about what they do not have, instead of thanking God for what they do have. A key idea in this series of devotionals, "The Blessed Lame Man," which is based on II Samuel 9:6-8, 13, is that, "We should be mindful of humility, blessings, and lameness."

In this devotional, let's focus on being appreciative. Notice that Mephibosheth was blessed because of his father. It was not simply the goodness or kindness of Mephibosheth; it was the affection that David had for Jonathan that led to Mephibosheth being blessed.

In like manner, you and I are the inheritors and benefactors of that which was earned by others. We can safely say that if it had not been for our fore parents (i.e., I am thinking about my African American roots), many of the things that we take for granted would not be ours.

The cars that we drive, the houses we live in, the formal educations that we have or strive to obtain, and even our church buildings and their contents would not be ours had it not been for our fore parents and the lives that they lived. I wonder was Jonathan’s son more appreciative of his father’s legacy than we are of the legacy of our fore parents?

I sense that there are times when we grow weary of hearing how our fore parents endured the horrors of slavery and the incivilities of Jim Crowism.

Because of their making it through the efforts to dehumanize them and to indoctrinate them into believing that if they were human, there were inferior to Whites, we are able to have what we have. I hope that Mephibosheth appreciated his father more than some of us do our fore parents.

Self Examination
1. On a scale of one to five, with five being high, how would grade your level of being grateful for what God has done for you through your fore parents and others?

2. Cite some examples of blessings that you enjoy because of the work and sacrifices of others.

3. What are you going to do to grow in this area?

Prayer
Great and awesome God, the One who deserves all of my gratitude, it is to You that I pray. Thank You for how You have continued to bless me through the lives of both those who are alive and contributions of those who are no longer on this side of the grave.

I confess that I do not always show the level of thankfulness that I should. Please forgive me, and help me to be more appreciative. In Jesus' name, amen.

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